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Robin Stanton started railway work in the early 1950's as a lad porter at Andoversford Junction station. If he was on early shift he would cycle from his home in Charlton Kings up the steep hill on the A40 trunk road to the station, as he had to be on duty for arrival of the first passenger train, the 6.30am from Cheltenham Spa St James to Kingham.
The main signal box was Andoversford Junction which was in use on weekdays from 4am to 12.45am the next morning and dealt with trains on the Kingham and ex-MSW line to Swindon Town and Andover. While that box had its own regular signalmen, the other one, Andoversford Station, open from 10.30am to 2.30pm to deal with freight shunting movements, was worked by station staff including Robin.
Robin was a booking boy at the very busy Cheltenham Lansdown Junction Signal Box in the mid-1950s along with his friend Pete Stevens. After a period working as a relief signalman at various boxes in the area, he became one of the regular signalmen at Hatherley Junction Signal Box by 1960, possibly a bit earlier. He stayed there until a couple of months before the box closed in November 1966 and emigrated to New Zealand, but made frequent trips back to Cheltenham over the years.
Working on the railway gave Robin free travel on BR to places such as Bristol where he took these photos, the steam ones date from the mid 1950's.
Scenes at Bristol Bath Road shed, 82A, which was adjacent to Temple Meads station. Top left is a 'County' 4-6-0; bottom left is a 'Hall' 4-6-0; above is a general view with a 'Castle' 4-6-0 prominent. Bath Road was the passenger loco shed and was converted for use by diesels in 1960.
A 1950s period piece with two smartly dressed young chaps looking at 5028 'Llantilio Castle' waiting to depart from Temple Meads.
One of 81A Old Oak Common's 'King' 4-6-0s stands at Temple Meads after arrival from London with 'The Merchant Venturer'. On the journey from Paddington it stopped only at Bath Spa and Temple Meads before terminating at Weston-Super-Mare. But the return trip from Weston to Paddington called at Yatton, Nailsea & Backwell, Temple Meads, Bath Spa, Chippenham, Swindon and Reading General. It had been a regular turn for the GWR's gas turbine loco 18100.
Below left: 'Jubilee' 45602 'British Honduras' was a Bristol Barrow Road engine until the mid-1950s. Below right: A GWR 'Grange' 4-6-0 has train number 442 on the smokebox.
Robin was a keen photographer of diesels as well as steam and this is a picture he took in the 1960s of B R Western Region's diesel hydraulic D842 'Royal Oak' at Bristol Temple Meads. D842's time in service lasted less than eleven years with the decision to phase out diesel hydraulics in favour of diesel electric locos.
Robin is on the right of this picture at Bristol Temple Meads, typically with camera, he took one everywhere with him for many years. Photo R Wales, Restoration & Archiving Trust
See the sub-pages for views from the boxes where Robin worked and visited.
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